Cincinnati Reds' Bad Start Hits New Historic Low

By Grant E. Doepel

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The season went from bad to worse for the Cincinnati Reds after being shut out by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday evening. With the 28th ranked offense (Cincinnati) facing off against the 28th ranked pitching staff (Arizona), it was bound to be ugly for all viewers. In the last 21 games, the Reds have yet to score more than six runs in a game – scoring five runs only twice. The Reds have scored the fewest runs through the first 50 games in team history in the last 40 years.

For a team with preseason aspirations of advancing in the playoffs, the 2014 season has been anything but acceptable. Sitting at eight games out of first place, the Reds face their largest deficit in the last six years. It’s a testament to the poor construction of a team with leftover issues from an offseason that ignored team needs.

The recent tone by manager Bryan Price in postgame interviews gives off the impression that the Reds are just as aware of the potentially lost season as the media and fans as he told John Fay:

“What you start to do is give more people opportunities, we have a 5-man bench. We’ll utilize it, as you’ll see tomorrow. You can’t trying the same things and expect a different results. These guys are grinding. There’s not a lack of effort. We’ll let our roster play. Let guys fight it out for playing time. That’s a direction we’ll go.”

The struggles don’t come from a lack of imagination from Price. As for the players he has on his roster, many are producing statistics parallel to their career lines. The team that was constructed by general manager Walt Jocketty was flawed before the season even began. In all honesty, the team over the last few years has been equally as flawed but were able to overcome their shortcomings to produce in the regular season.

For the Reds moving forward, they have their hands tied. With this team, what you see is what you are going to get from them — great pitching and defense with poor offense. They are a team just as capable of going on a five-game winning streak as they are of going on a five-game losing streak.

History will remember this team for underachieving. And as owner Bob Castellini is about to find out, he could also be losing the impeccable trust of the fans.